A parish priest in Raigarh Diocese leads a procession to his village church to start a prayer chain launched by Catholics in two dioceses of India’s Chhattisgarh state. (photo: Raigarh Diocese/UCANews)

Marathon prayers in India ahead of election(UCANews.com) Ahead of national elections in India, Catholics in two dioceses of Chhattisgarh state have launched a marathon prayer program, encouraged by the result of a similar program during a state election last year. The all-night prayer program has been designed to cover all 96 parishes of Jashpur and Raigarh dioceses…

Report: Iran preparing for role in Syria’s reconstruction(VOA) Iranian construction companies are to build thousands of residential units in the suburbs of Syria’s capital, Damascus, an Iranian state-run news agency has reported. Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) recently quoted a business official with the country’s investment association, who announced that Iran would build 200,000 residential units near Damascus…

Christians condemn acquittal of suspected vandals in Jerusalem(AP) Christian authorities in Jerusalem are denouncing the acquittal of two Jewish youths suspected of vandalizing a famous monastery. Wadie Abunassar, an adviser to church leaders in the Holy Land, said on Tuesday that an Israeli court’s decision to acquit those suspecting of sprawling anti-Christian graffiti on the Dormition Abbey several years ago is “unacceptable”…

Study finds discrimination in Kerala flood relief(Times of India) Flood-affected people belonging to the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe and Dalit Christian communities faced discrimination after the deluge, a ”fact sheet” released by an NGO reported last week…

Gaza women walk thin line between hope and despair(The Jerusalem Post) More than 2 million Palestinians live in the narrow Gaza Strip, which shares borders with Israel and Egypt. Israel maintains tight control of Gaza’s land and sea borders, citing security concerns emanating from Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group which controls the coastal territory. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border. Those restrictions have devastated Gaza’s economy and left many of its women struggling to find work after graduating from college…